First bumble’s of 2013

Yesterday I let Elaine know at BBCT that you might have an interesting B. hypnorum record.
While we were talking, she took a long hard look at your photos and let me down gently !

Her cool professional reaction was that your mystery bee was most likely to be a White-tailed bumblebee - and these new photos fit with that diagnosis, because in the one on the right black fur is visible above the yellow.
If it was really B. hypnorum, the thorax fur would be uniform in colour.

So, my excitement is now abating !
And I feel sorry for making that erroneous diagnosis of B. hypnorum.

However, at least I know where Seil is now ..... so you’ve improved my Scottish Geography, which as a soft southerner cold do with major enhancement.

I’m glad you are enjoyingDave Goulson’s ‘Sting in the Tale’ some of the early reminiscences took me back to my own boyhood - but I never got in to Taxidermy !
Yes it is an excellent read and made much better by all the descriptions of how the experiments were done and some of the people involved.

Just a note to say that in the last few days I spotted a B. hypnorum worker foraging on Apple Blossom.
There have also been workers of terrestris/lucorum and hortorum and pratorum doing the same.
Also still queens of B. pascuorum.

Just been for a quick look around the garden again…...... At last I’ve seen a big B Lap; queen. She’s zig zagging around all over the place looking for a nest site….. hopefully in my garden !

Apart from Wasps, so far this season is turning out to be very quiet, I’ve had a few B Terrestris and B Pascuorum in the garden but that’s about all….... But there does seem to be jaspers everywhere, has anyone else noticed ?

Does anyone know if there is a Wasps nest nearby, would it have any effect on BB numbers in the Wasps nest area !!!!